Rubber footwear



June 30, 1942. .2. E. HARD RUBBER FOOTWEAR Filed Aug. 2, 1940 Patented June 30, 1942 UNTE.

RUBBER FOOTWEAR John E. Hard, Cranston, R. I., assigner' to Goodyear Footwear Corporation, Providence, R. I., a corporation of Delaware Application August 2, 194), Serial No. 349,492,r

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in rubber footwear. More especially it has to do with a quarter which employs a zipper fastener to close a seam over the instep.

Heretofore in rubber footwear where a quarter has embodied a zipper fastener, it has been deemed necessary to provide a ap on the inside of the quarter large enough in extent to overlie the metallic elements of the fastener, even when the latter and instep seam are open. Nevertheless, in spite of the provision of this flap the metallic elements of the fastener have been exposed and have caused frequent damage to miladys stockings. When the fastener has been closed the iiap has constituted an undesired layer of material over the instep.

It is an object of my invention to so attach the fastener to the quarter that the troublesome metallic elements are at all times substantially covered by the elements of the quarter. Thus no engagement of the metallic elements with stockings occurs, and no flap is used.

The best mode in which I have contemplated applying the principles of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawing but these are to be taken as merely illustrative because it is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in the appended claim whatever features of patentable novelty are herein disclosed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a plan View showing the outside of a quarter embodying my improvements;

Figure 2 is a plan View showing the inside of the quarter of Figure l, with the instep seam closed;

Figure 3 is a View like Figure 2 but with the instep seam open; and

Figure 4 is a section taken as on line Q of Figure 2. c

Referring to the drawing, the quarter illustrated has the usual fabric inner lining l!) and the usual outer facing of rubber I2 held together as a sort of composite layer. On one side of the instep seam I6, as viewed in Figure 4, the composite layer of rubber l2 and fabric I0 extends clear to the edge of the metallic elements I4 on the inside of the Zipper fastener. On the inside of the quarter, that is, on the side opposite to where the handle I8 of the zipper (which moves up and down the instep seam It) is located, there is provided a narrow fabric strip which extends along the metallic elements I4 and along part of the fabric tape 22 to which the metallic elements are secured during the manu facture of the zipper fastener. Between the narrow fabric strip 2D and the rubber facing l2 of the quarter is an interposed strip `24 of rubber which overlies the said fabric strip 20 and also a part of the fabric tape 22. At the outside of the quarter there is a ller strip 26 of rubber which lies along the metallic elements lll and the fabric tape 22 of the Zipper fastener and over this is a rather wide rubber strip 28 which ertends from the edge of the metallic elements, over the filler strip 26 and the fabric tape 22 and makes binding Contact with the rubber facing I2 of the composite quarter layer. When the handle I8 of the zipper `fastener is moved upward or downward the edges of the rubber strips 26 and 28 bend outward, as indicated in dotted outluine in Figure 4 to permit the pull-tab to slide freely along the metallic elements.

The elements thus described on one side of the instep seam I6 are duplicated on the other side of this seam, so that when the fastener is closed, the edges of the fabric strips 23, the rubber strips 24 and the composite quarter layer composed of the rubber facing l2 and the fabric liningl, abut one another and present a substantially uninterrupted inner surface on the quarter, free from the heretofore undesirable iiap. Thus the metallic elements of the fastener do not contact a stocking and this feature is retained when the fastener is opened because then the separated metallic elements are still substantially hidden by the layers of rubber and fabric overlying them on the inside of the quarter.

I claim:

A quarter for rubber footwear having an outer layer of rubber material with an inner lining of fabric and having an instep seam; a Zipper fastener for closing said seam having the inner surface of the portions of its fabric tapes remote from the metallic elements attached to the outer surface of said outer layer of rubber material; an inner layer of fabric material attached to the inner surface of the portions of said fabric tapes adjacent to the metallic elements; a layer of rubber material attached to the inner surface of the portions of said fabric tapes intermediate the heretofore mentioned portions thereof, the last said layer of rubber materially overlying and being attached Vto the aforesaid inner layer of fabric material and being attached to the outer layer of rubber material of the quarter; a similar layer of rubber material attached to the outer surface of the portions of the said fabric tapes adjacent to the metallic elements; a surface layer of rubber material overlying and being attached to the last said layer of rubber material and extending sidewise therebeyond for attachment to the outer surface of the portions of said fabric tapes remote from said metallic elements and to the outer surface of the outer layer of rubber material of the quarter; all said layers being severed along a plane passing through the instep seam at right angle to the normal plane of the zipper tapes.

JOHN E. HARD. 

